Captain America Gets New Duds in Ultimate Return

A year ago, mainstream comic book fans might not have known who Sam Humphries was. Though he’d been on the rise on the indie scene for quite a while, Humphries got his mainstream break this year writing John Carter: Gods of Mars for Marvel Comics, with one of the biggest gigs of them all – The Ultimates – soon to follow. Taking over from Jonathan Hickman as the sole writer of The Ultimates beginning with issue #13, Humphries is ready to put his own stamp on the Ultimates legacy -- and his story begins with the return of Ultimate Captain America.

With Cap having been off the grid since the death of Peter Parker, Humphries and artist Billy Tan are ready to bring him back with a bang – and a whole new look – in Ultimate Comics Ultimates #13. "Since they defrosted him, he's been running a million miles an hour, without much time to reflect... until the death of Peter Parker forced him to hit pause," Humphries said. "Out there in the wilderness, he's been thinking about all the big issues, like, what am I doing acting like a superhero? What are my duties in the 21st century? Am I still a soldier? Why did I survive decades encased in ice? For what purpose? Am I living up to that purpose? At the same time, while he was absent from duty on his little vision quest, America fell apart. That's got to weigh heavily on a man who wears the stars and stripes."

Not only is Cap returning to a broken America, but a very different team as well. Humphries expressed the changes that the Ultimates have gone through since Cap left. "Nick Fury had S.H.I.E.L.D. torn away from him, and is now off the grid. Reed Richards destroyed Asgard, leaving Thor depowered and alone. Tony's brain tumor is back, and he's convinced it's sentient, his 'parallel processor.' Monica, Clint, and Sam have been betrayed, hunted and imprisoned by their country. They are scattered, disoriented, and angry. Sounds like they need a leader, don't they?"

While America has indeed fallen apart and the Ultimates can use all the help they can get, that doesn’t necessarily mean Cap’s reunion with the team will be entirely drama-free; Cap’s return isn’t met entirely without questions on the team’s end either, all of which seems to form the nexus of Marvel’s Divided We Fall event for the Ultimate Universe. "They don't know where he's been, or what he's doing," Humphries said. "They're grateful to have him back, but they don't know what, if any, changes he's gone through out there in the wilderness. And they don't know how he's going to react to this radically changed world. It's Cap, for once, who is the wild card on the team."

As for the new design of Ultimate Cap, Tan chimed in, "It’s my design based on Sam's descriptions -- WWII roots, Iraq War-style chest armor, cargo pants, boots... a very military look in Cap's way. He probably has to hand paint the 'A' on the helmet himself since he doesn't have the luxury of having S.H.I.E.L.D. painting him a perfect one."

Humphries certainly has quite the history to live up to with his solo debut on the book, but he doesn’t seem fazed by those that preceded him. "I'm a huge fan of the Ultimates legacy -- I was buying the Millar/Hitch issues in singles! Everyone at Marvel warned me that trying to write the book like anyone else, including my predecessors, would be a mistake," he said.

"My mandate is to write a Sam Humphries Ultimates comic, and that's one thing I know I can do," the writer added. "Cap's return is just the start. I'm ready to get in there and tear it up."

Ultimate Comics Ultimates #13 goes on sale July 25.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He will love Star Wars until the end of his days.